Much of California was already claimed by Mexican citizens before the state joined the US—Los Angeles included and Rancho La Brea of particular note. Rancho La Brea was named after the natural asphalt that occurred that bubbled to the surface on the land. The 4,439-acres of land was granted by the Mexican government to Antonio Jose Rocha and Nemisio Dominguez…
Tag: Los Angeles
Rancho Santa Anita
Rancho Santa Anita was a 13,319 acre land grant covering modern day Arcadia, Monrovia, Pasadena, San Marino, and Sierra Madre held by Perfecto Hugo Reid in 1845. While Reid sold this land to Henry Dalton in 1847, the secession of California put the ownership of this land in flux until the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo agreed to honor preexisting…